Summer’s last dance

Published: Friday, August 15, 2014 at 11:36 AM.

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Though I can’t dance very well (my husband and I skipped the first dance tradition at our wedding 10 years ago), I have come to realize it doesn’t matter. So, the past few nights, we have kept the dinner music on while washing dishes, allowing for spontaneous moments to run into the living room and join our son dancing.

When I asked him for tips, he gently said, “Just dance your own way, Mom.”

In between marking off the list in my head ­— second-grade summer packet, routine doctor appointments, school uniforms and supplies — I am taking new leaps.

We don’t even close the shades anymore.

After sitting down to the table Thursday night, my husband asked if I could guess the night’s secret ingredient used in the pork tenderloin and Caesar salad. My son’s guess was “love,” and mine was “thyme” — he said we both were right.

Though most of our backyard vegetable garden is drying up, we still have copious amounts of thyme, basil and oregano. And I am thankful for the season every time I open up a canned jar of homemade salsa, dill pickles or jalapenos. Making the most of it has led my husband to make chicken stock this summer after smoking or roasting a chicken.

Though I can’t dance very well (my husband and I skipped the first dance tradition at our wedding 10 years ago), I have come to realize it doesn’t matter. So, the past few nights, we have kept the dinner music on while washing dishes, allowing for spontaneous moments to run into the living room and join our son dancing.

When I asked him for tips, he gently said, “Just dance your own way, Mom.”

In between marking off the list in my head ­— second-grade summer packet, routine doctor appointments, school uniforms and supplies — I am taking new leaps.

We don’t even close the shades anymore.

After sitting down to the table Thursday night, my husband asked if I could guess the night’s secret ingredient used in the pork tenderloin and Caesar salad. My son’s guess was “love,” and mine was “thyme” — he said we both were right.

Though most of our backyard vegetable garden is drying up, we still have copious amounts of thyme, basil and oregano. And I am thankful for the season every time I open up a canned jar of homemade salsa, dill pickles or jalapenos. Making the most of it has led my husband to make chicken stock this summer after smoking or roasting a chicken.

For the smoked broth, put the leftover chicken carcass in a large stockpot and cover it with water, add a few carrots, celery stalks, onion and garlic, salt and pepper, and simmer it for at least an hour. After skimming off the fat, strain the broth and discard the carcass and vegetables.

(See a recipe at ExtraordinaryBBQ.com/leftovers-smoked-chicken-broth)

We measured it and put it into ice cube trays to freeze, then divided the frozen cubes into bags equaling one or two cups and labeled them. Now I just take out a bag and put it in the refrigerator the night before I need it for a recipe. (We also have frozen cubes of pesto, which I thaw and toss with pasta.)

This weekend, the three of us will be at the Great American Blues Festival & BBQ Challenge going on through Sunday in Aaron Bessant Park. Dana “Big Papa” Hillis told me he sometimes runs off in mid-conversation to check on his barbecue — “normal in the barbecue world.”